Deathstroke
When most older generation superheroes or agents of law enforcement hear the name Deathstroke they break into a spasm of uncontrollable giggling. Such reactions might surprise younger heroes until a full explanation is made. Deathstroke was one of the most imbecilic and inept super-villain teams ever. Ever. The team: Deathsinger, Frost, Arrowhead, Stinger, and Death-Maker couldn't get anything right. Plans for world domination collapsed under their own inexperience. They were such a disjointed and awkward team that superheroes putting on their tights for the first time'' that day'' were easily able to apprehend them. It got so bad for Deathstroke that they couldn't even make an appearance without people starting to laugh, even the very civilians who were supposed to be terrified of them! But nobody's laughing now. The Deathstroke of The Blackmar In the face of all this ridicule Adrian Boucher, Deathsinger, just gave up. He threw in the towel. He knew he wasn't the problem, the rest of his team was. While this may sound like that natural reaction of some megalomaniac whom can't see his own hand in failures it's actually true. Adrian himself is a brilliant tactician and strategist. But he has morons on his team. His younger brother Damien, Frost, was utterly incapable of thinking for himself. Arrowhead was too busy kissing his own biceps and thinking he was the greatest tanker alive to realize that he was one of the weakest, with no sense of strategy. Stinger had such an inferiority complex that a dominant superhero flying down and telling him to freeze would cause Stinger to lock up in terror. And Death-Maker, the so-called marksman of the group, was much too busy trying to overthrow Deathsinger and assume leadership than listen to any instructions. So Boucher said forget it, walked out on his team, and went to live a quiet life as a stage actor in his native Quebec. That where Dire Invictus found him. The Olympian Overlord had always been fascinated by Deathstroke. More to the point, how a team with such potential could have been such a collosal failure. After watching news reels of Deathstroke in action she quickly came to realize that the group's leader, Deathsinger, was very astute and very intelligent. It made her curious as to why he would tolerate such a team for one second. At first, Adrian denied ever having been part of any group, and even denied being this Deathsinger person and denied that he had superpowers of any kind. But Invictus was not deceived. After three days of relentless hounding, Adrian finally admitted to everything and angrily demanded to know what the small criminal wanted. He was completely dumbfounded when Invictus informed him that she wanted a general whom could rule all of Canada in her name when she conquered the world, and she wanted that general to be him. He listened. Invictus laid out her plan to supply him with an entirely new team, one well trained and well-organized and well-able to listen to and carry through Adrian's instructions and orders. Adrian agreed to return to Olympus with Invictus where he met the new team, the fleet vehicles set aside for the new team, and even a 50 man platoon of skilled soldiers. Deathstroke soldiers. All his for the taking. Adrian liked what he saw, and shook hands with his new employer. Deathstroke most often serves the Blackmar as its agents in Canada. Invictus tends to give them free reign to assassinate political targets, rob banks, or blow up shopping malls; whatever crime happens to strike Requiem's fancy at the time. Requiem realizes that his primary goal is to weaken Canada's defenses for the day that Invictus and her Genocide Agenda launches a full-scale invasion and takeover attempt and he is content to do just that. Most of Deathstroke's targets are political and military, but they also branch out for other crimes depending on what the team needs or wants. Requiem understands that they are really nothing more than a team of glorified thugs for Invictus, but he doesn't mind because he believes the Overlord when she says she'll turn Canada over to him when she conquers it. And, given Invictus' true agenda, there's no question she would keep her word to Deathstroke. Deathstroke Membership When selecting the new Deathstroke Invictus was very careful to find individuals with power sets that equalled those of the original members, but improved. Those she couldn't find she turned to Olympic Industries for, whom in turn provided her with Thunderstruck and Carapace. Additionally, Invictus selected a further two individuals she felt would nicely round out the team's capabilities. The members of Deathstroke are loyal to Deathsinger, whom has himself gotten an upgrade. Naturally, Boucher was suspicious that the new Deathstroke agents would be loyal to Invictus rather than himself so he reached out to some old aquaintances and found one of his former colleague, the telepath Trust Fund, who scanned the minds of the new team and surprised Boucher with the knowledge that his new team was, indeed, loyal to him and nobody else. Pleased, Deathsinger asked Trust Fund if she herself would be interested in joining. She was and did, and the two now have an ongoing romantic relationship. Requiem '''-- Formerly Deathsinger, Adrian Boucher was born in Montreal and at an early age displayed a certain talent for tact, leadership, and strategy. He could have been an extremely formidable foe if he'd only have had a capable team. Well, now he does and with both new team and Requiem's leadership Deathstroke is making a comeback of such violence and success that heroes all across Canada and the United States are starting to sit up and take notice. Requiem is a genetic mutant with the ability to subconsciously harness and transmute ambient sound. At first Requiem's ability to produce sound was limited to just his vocal chords but through intense training and dint of experience he is able to conduct sound through his hands as well. Requiem is capable of emitting intense blasts of concentrated sound waves that can pulverize rock. By grabbing and holding onto an opponent he is able to conduct sound through his foe causing broken bones and ruptured organs. He is also able to emit a sudden and severe sonic boom that effects everything within a 300-foot radius, produce an ultra-high frequency that can cause deafness or ruptured eardrums, and change the tone, pitch, and octave of his own voice in order to precisely mimic any sound or person in the world. In addition to his sound prowess Requiem is a very capable leader, tactician, and strategist. '''Trust Fund -- Trust Fund is a remarkably skilled telepath. She can read the immediate surface thoughts and emotions of anyone she can see. Her scanning is generally undetectable. She is capable of delving deeper, finding one's innermost thoughts, feelings, and memories; such a deep scan always alerts her target to the fact that they are being telepathically probed though only fellow telepaths like herself are able to realize that she is the source. Trust Fund is capable of an even deeper scan which requires a great deal of exertion on her part. Her deepest scans allow her to alter and even eliminate memories, impant hypnotic suggestions, and manipulate dreams. Trust Fund's deepest scans always gives her severe migraines that will last for days so a deep scan is used only when absolutely necessary. 'Carapace '-- Taking his name from te media, which itself was a commentary on the black protective body armor he wears, Capace is gifted with numerous insect-like capabilities. First and foremost is that, like the heroine Gossamer, Carapace's hands and feet are covered in microscopic setules which allow him to cling to sheer surfaces; including glass and ice. His strenth operates at superhuman levels, allowing him to lift and carry two tons of weight. He can perform a standing jump of forty feet across and twenty feet straight up. The hairs lining his body act as biological motion detectors, he is able to sense the approach of a person or object to such an extent that it borders on the preternatural, enabling him to swiftly move out of the way of attacks before he is seemingly aware of them. In addition to his insect powers he is an extremely skilled boxer. 'Deathurge '-- Deathurge has been identified as one Po Huk Tak, a Vietnamese soldier and mercenary very skilled in a nuber of firearms, explosive, military ordinance, and unarmed fighting techniques. Deathurge operates that the tech guy of Deathstroke, building weapons and armor and specialized ammunition for his allies and the Deathstroke agents. He typically carries a number of firearms and grenades into combat but is happiest behind the front lines where he is proficient in creating deadly booby traps for superheroes that come calling at Deathstroke headquarters. 'Melodrama '-- The Canadian criminal known as Melodrama has never been arrested. He serves as the team's secondary brute, having the power to shift his molecular density so that he becomes extremely heavy and resistant to damage. When not engaging his power and strolling casually into crowds of bystanders or police to draw attention away from the rest of the team he is an expert safecracker, he has helped Deathstroke break into safes and secured bank vaults with a variety of professional tools. Melodrama has never said a word in costume. 'Snowblind '-- Theresa Pollanski has a long and involved criminal record in Montreal and Victoria, since a chemical accident imbued her with the power to generate ice and cold. Jocular and happy, she simply adores taunting law enforcment as she slides around the battlefiled on ice roads and ramps, blasting away with ice balls, jagged shards of ice, and large blocks of ice. When the situation gets dire she'll erect heavy duty walls of ice to cover the team's escape. Unlike a great many ice and cold using meta-humans, Snowblind either can't or hasn't yet developed the power trick of encasing people in ice. That's probably a good thing, for if she had--or ever does--it's probable that a lot of Deathstroke's enemies would be found frozen or suffocated to death. 'Sundown '-- Doesn't seem to strike anyone as being a typical Deathstroke member, which originally concentrated on heavy firepower and tankers. She is neither, which is precisely why Invictus chose her to be part of the team. Sundown is a typical mystic seer, using a variety of arcane tools such as water bowls, magic mirrors, and smoke to divine the future. With enough prep and concentration Sundown is able to predict the likliest outcome of any of Requiem's plans. At first Requiem scoffed at the idea of having a 'witch' on his team but when Sundown's advice proved to be not only useful but instrumental in the success of several team efforts Requiem developed a profound respect for her particular talents. Sundown is virtually never found on the field of battle but then if she sees a bad outcome for Deathstroke the rest of the team isn't there either. 'Thunderstruck '-- Aaron Ravenbeak is one of Canada's First-Nation people, a full-blooded Cree that takes pride in his blood, his land, and his people. He is strict, stern, and dour; one of those men that truly has no sense of humor to speak of. Thunderstruck is a very angry man, he rarely even socializes with his own team. Taking the place of the original Deathstroke member Arrowhead, Thunderstruck is able to, at will, endow himself with meta-human strength and resistance to damage. How he does this is unknown. Unlike many tanker types Thunderstruck doesn't just wade into combat with both fists flying: he fights like a true Cree warrior with knives, a quick and deadly martial arts style that seems to be a mixture of Okinawa-Te and Shotokan Karate, and even using bow and arrow to bring his enemy down. He is an expert tracker, and often helps Deathstroke hunt down law enforcement officers that Requiem has determined are a threat to the team.